Investigations
Waymo AV drives around a stopped school bus
NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE25013 — open, opened 2025-10-17.
NHTSA investigation PE25013 is a Preliminary Evaluation opened on 2025-10-17 and currently open. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 2025-10-17 — NHTSA updates that field whenever an Information Request goes out, a supplement is filed, or a status change is recorded in the public docket.
A Preliminary Evaluation like PE25013 is the entry point of the federal defect-investigation process. NHTSA engineers scan complaint databases, field reports, and manufacturer data to decide whether an Engineering Analysis is warranted, whether a voluntary recall is already sufficient, or whether the pattern does not rise to a defect finding.
Investigators summarized the matter as follows: "The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) identified a media report involving a Waymo AV that failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed, and c..." Investigations are the early-warning layer of the federal auto-safety system, sitting upstream of formal recalls and defect orders. Whether this one closes without action or escalates into an Engineering Analysis, the full history stays in the ODI archive so researchers, litigators, and buyers can pull the paper trail at any time.
Investigation Summary
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) identified a media report involving a Waymo AV that failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed, and crossing control arm deployed. In the incident, the Waymo AV approached the right side of the stopped school bus from a perpendicular side street. The AV initially stopped, but then drove around the front of the bus by briefly turning right to avoid running into the bus’s right front end, then turning left to pass in front of the bus, and then turning further left and driving down the roadway past the entire left side of the bus. During this maneuver, the Waymo AV passed the bus’s extended crossing control arm near disembarking students (on the bus’s right side) and passed the extended stop arm on the bus’s left side. At the time of the incident, the Waymo AV was operated by Waymo’s 5th Generation Automated Driving System (ADS). No safety operator was present in the vehicle. Waymo’s ADS surpassed 100 million miles of driving in July of 2025. Operations involving Waymo’s ADS currently accumulate approximately two million miles per week. Based on NHTSA’s engagement with Waymo on this incident and the accumulation of operational miles, the likelihood of other prior similar incidents is high. ODI has opened a Preliminary Evaluation to investigate the performance of the Waymo ADS around stopped school buses, how the system is designed to comply with school bus traffic safety laws, and the system’s ability to follow those traffic safety laws. During this investigation, NHTSA will seek to identify the scope of the issue presented by this incident and identify any other similar incidents.
About This Investigation Type
A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first phase of NHTSA's investigation process. It is opened when the agency identifies a potential safety defect pattern, usually triggered by consumer complaints, manufacturer reports, or field monitoring. During a PE, NHTSA gathers information to determine whether a formal engineering analysis is warranted.
Data from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Cross-references: NHTSA recall campaign API and NHTSA FARS where fatality records overlap. PlainCars does not rate or recommend vehicles. Learn more.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.